Sanger delivered this speech to the New History Society, part of a
series on "My Plan for Peace." For other versions, including one
published in the Birth Control Review,
see MSM S71:336, 338, 341, 345, and 348.

MY WAY TO PEACE

Margaret Sanger

Science has been applied to the various channels of life's needs
especially to our environment. Industry, commerce, education,
hygiene, surgery, agriculture, dairy, factory, mining and even war
have had the benefits of the best that science could command; but it
has not yet been applied to improving the quality of life itself nor
to the maintenance of PEACE.

MY WAY TO PEACE would be First, to put into action the fourteen
points of President Wilson's,
upon which Germany and Austria
surrendered to the Allies. Second, to have Congress set up a special
department for the study of population problems, and appoint a
Parliament of Population Directors representing the various branches
of science.

This body to direct and control the population through Birth rates
and immigration, and direct its distribution over the country
according to national needs consistent with the taste, fitness and
interest of the individuals.

The main objects of the Population Congress would be:

(a) to raise the level and increase the general intelligence of our
population.

(b) to increase the population slowly by keeping the birth rate at
its present level of fifteen, decreasing the death rate below its present mark of
11.

(c) keep the doors of Immigration closed to the entrance of certain
aliens whose condition is known to be detrimental to the stamina of
the race, such as feeble-minded, idiots, morons, insane, syphiletic,
epileptic, criminal, professional prostitutes, and others in this
class barred from entrance by the Immigration
Laws of 1924.

(d) apply a stern and rigid policy of sterilization, and segregation
to that grade of population whose progeny is already tainted or
whose inheritance is such that objectionable traits may be
transmitted to offspring.

(e) to insure the country against future burdens of maintenance for
numerous offspring as may be born of feeble-minded parents, the
government would pension all persons with transmissible disease who
voluntarily consent to sterilization.

(f) the whole dysgenic population would have its choice of
segregation or sterilization.

(g) there would be farm lands and homesteads where these segregated
persons would be taught to work under competent instructors for the
period of their entire lives.

The first step would thus be to control the intake and output on
morons, mental defectives, epileptics.

The second step would be to take an inventory of the secondary group
such as illiterates, paupers, unemployables, criminals, prostitutes,
dope-fiends; classify them in special departments under government
medical protection and segregate on farms and open spaces as long as
necessary for the strengthening and development of moral
conduct.

Having coralled this enormous part of our population and placed it on
a basis of health not punishment, it is safe to say that about
fifteen or twenty millions of our population would then be organized
into soldiers of defense–defending the unborn against their own
disabilities.

The third step would be to give special attention to the mothers'
health, to see that women who are suffering from tuberculosis, heart
or kidney disease, toxis goitre, gonorrhea, or any disease where the
condition of pregnancy disturbs her health; place these mothers
under public health nurses to instruct them in practical scientific
methods of contraception in order to safeguard their lives–thus
reducing maternal mortality.

There would be a careful follow-up in the homes where infants have
died, to ascertain the causes and to prevent when possible the
further increase of children until the causes have been
removed–reducing infant mortality.

While the above steps seem to be emphasis on a health program instead
of on tariffs, moratoriums and debts, I believe that national health
is the first essential factor in any program for universal
peace.

With the future citizens safeguarded from hereditary taints, with
five million mental and moral degenerates segregated, with ten
million women and ten million children receiving adequate attention,
we could then turn our attention to the basic needs for
international peace.

There would then be a definite inexorable ruling that the population
should increase slowly at a specified rate, in order to accommodate
and adjust the increasing numbers to our social and economic
system.

The Birth Rate in the United States in 1931 was 15.0
and the death rate about 11, which allowed for a survival rate of
4%, or an increase in the population, including immigration, of over
20%.

Immigration: Open the gates of the U.S.A. to those countries whose
inhabitants have the inherent talents and national characteristics
desirable, eliminating entirely those countries whose subjects have
already been difficult to assimilate.

This plan to be in operation for ten years. In the meantime we shall
organize and join an International League of Low Birth Rate Nations
to secure and maintain WORLD PEACE.